Hamas: From Resistance to Government?

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Author: Paola Caridi (2010)

Hamas has used terrorism and suicide attacks, it has challenged Yasser Arafat's authority, it has survived the death of many of its leaders. In 2006, it was democratically elected by the majority of the Palestinian people to become part of the Palestinian National Authority (PNA) government. What lies behind the mystery of Hamas? Why has an Islamist movement gained so much recognition among a basically secular people such as the Palestinians? And why has it not melted away like snow in the sun when the entire West isolated it from the rest of the world?

Events have shown that Palestinian political Islam cannot be considered a passing phenomenon, nor is it the product of a single cause: be it the birth of Israel, the occupation of Palestinian land, or the lack of a true Palestinian state. Asking these questions also means providing answers to what has been documented by the news in recent years: the internal division of Palestinians, the desperation of life in Gaza and the lack of a realistic prospect for peace between Israelis and Palestinians in the near future.

Paola Caridi's book provides a first-hand investigation into the movement, using a combination of news and archival sources, describing settings, and giving voice to its protagonists. And, for the first time, it tries to reveal some of the unknown characteristics of an organisation that in some ways is still clandestine or that has, over the last few years, gone back to being partially secret, revealing a far more complex picture than the one described by the media so far.

Paperback: 320 pages

Publisher: PASSIA, 2010

Language: English

[Source: PASSIA, Palestinian Academic Society for the Study of International Affairs]